# Echoes through time: amazing inferences from a fossil bat

## TL;DR

A 50-million-year-old fossil bat suggests it used echolocation, offering new insights into how this ability evolved in bats.

## Contribution

The study provides new evidence that an ancient bat species used laryngeal echolocation.

## Key findings

- Morphometric analyses suggest Vielasia sigei used laryngeal echolocation.
- The fossil provides insights into the evolution of echolocation in bats.
- Fossils like Vielasia enhance understanding of extinct species' behaviors.

## Abstract

Sister to the Chiroptera crown-clade, the 50 million year old Vielasia sigei is suggested to have used laryngeal echolocation based on morphometric analyses. We discuss how Vielasia’s discovery influences our understanding of the evolution of echolocation in bats and the insights fossils provide to the lives of extinct species.